Two can play at that game
by Ocean of Ashes
Summary: A fun little two parter set back in the day when Ray and Neela were roomies and life was a whole lot simpler
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The characters used in this story belong to NBC and anyone who actually has something to do with ER. Which unfortunately is not me.

Author's Note: This piece of writing was originally intended as a scene within one of my full length stories, Choices, but I decided it didn't really fit in very well, as I think this works better with a lighter underlying theme than the angst of that particular story, so I reworked it and here it is as a two-parter. I know it's a little bit out of character, but it's just a bit of fun, and given current events between them, I need something to lighten the mood. And note the rating – most definitely M for a reason, although it doesn't really hit the M rating until the second part.

Spoilers: None. It's fairly irrelevant when it's set, but take it to be at some indeterminate point during the time they were living together, probably quite early on, definitely before she was married, early Season 12 say.

Two can play that game

It had been a quiet shift, and for once in a very long time, they had both managed to clock off on time, and together. The "together" bit they didn't mention. They both were aware that, either unconsciously or by design on the part of one or either of them, they were not sticking to the opposite shifts that had been part of their agreement, but it was as if they didn't talk about it, it wasn't happening.

It was cold outside, and a biting wind blew the last remnants of the autumn leaves and a variety of light garbage; scraps of paper and empty crisp packets, in swirls around the ambulance bay as they hurried to the El station.

Their luck continued in as far as the train was pretty empty and they found a pair of seats easily.

Neela suddenly thought of something that she had been meaning to say to him all day. 'Did you get round to calling someone to come and have a look at the boiler? We're both working again in the morning, and I don't want to have to fight for the two minutes of hot water we do have.'

He looked guilty. 'Umm, well, I was kind of busy.'

She groaned at him in frustration. 'No you weren't, she snapped at him. 'You're too bloody lazy, that's your trouble. Ray, you promised that you would.' Her eyes flashed angrily.

'I'll let you have the hot water,' he offered with a winning smile. Which was fine by him. When she looked at him like that, all fury and frustration, he needed a cold shower anyway. Firmly, he pushed such thoughts away. The El was no place for them. Well, not if she didn't share them anyway.

He turned to her, changing the subject. 'So, what do you fancy for dinner?'

The enquiry was an innocent one, but Neela almost raised a playful eyebrow at him, before checking herself. He really was just asking about food; she hadn't better make a fool out of herself by making some stupid comment. She was bored, and occasionally had a habit, almost always kept in check, of flirting when she was bored. But when she was around him, she sometimes couldn't help herself. He just did that to her.

'Umm, I don't know. I think there's some pasta in the cupboard, I could cook that.'

She huffed at his doubtful look. 'What? It's pasta. Even I can cook pasta without sacrificing it.' They both knew that that wasn't entirely true, and eventually he elicited a smile of defeat from her.

She held her hands up. 'Okay, okay. Takeaway it is. Again,' she added pointedly. 'You know, if my cooking bothered you that much, you could actually prepare a meal yourself once in a blue moon.' She poked him playfully as she said it, trying to neutralise what she knew was a nagging tone in her voice.

She could tell by the glint in his eyes as he looked down at her that he didn't mind. 'You're right, I could.' He paused for effect. 'So what's it going to be, pizza or Chinese? I'm buying.'

She rolled her eyes at him in despair. 'Pizza I think.'

'What, for a change?' he teased her. She always chose pizza. 'I'll buy,' he repeated.

'You don't have to do that Ray, I'll pay my half.'

'No, it's fine. Consider it an apology for forgetting to sort out the boiler. Extra anchovies, right?'

She shot him a mock impressed look and offered a flippant comment in order to cover up the fact that she was actually both surprised and quite touched that he had remembered something as insignificant as her favourite pizza topping. Fair enough, they did order pizza a lot, but he wasn't noted for his skills of observation.

He took out his cell and ordered the pizza there and then. 'You have the pizza takeaway number saved on your phone?' she asked incredulously.

'Of course,' he replied. He sounded indignant, and at first she thought he was joking, but taking his phone and flicking through his contact list for proof, she found not only the pizza number, but two Chinese, and a Thai.

'Ray! Honestly. You have four different takeaway numbers on your phone.'

He grinned at her disapproval. 'I had an Indian as well, but I deleted it when you moved in.'

She frowned in confusion. 'Why?'

'Because, back in the days when I made the foolish and entirely incorrect assumption that you can cook, I was hoping that you'd be able to whip me up the odd curry when I had a fancy for a touch of Indian.'

Neela was silenced for a moment. His voice was dripping with flirtatiousness and suggestion. He did flirt with her from time to time, it was true, but always in a light hearted, joking manner, usually when he wanted something. This sounded different. It sounded more like the sort of comment she had nearly made but bit back just in time. But now he had just given her permission to say whatever she liked.

She looked sideways at him. 'One thing I can cook is a curry actually, but it would be _far _too hot for you to handle.'

'Is that so?' he raised an eyebrow, his eyes seeming to ask a serious question as well as a flippant one.

She chickened out. 'It is, but you're never going to find out.'

Her tone had changed, and he sensed it instantly. He leaned back in his seat, backing off. He didn't know what had made him make that ridiculous comment, but she had come right back at him and he had felt a little rush of excitement when he thought, just for a moment, that she was flirting with him. But then, in the next instant, it was over, but in the awkward silence that followed, he knew it hadn't been forgotten by either of them.

He'd been trying for a long time to keep a lid on his feelings for her, but it was beginning to drive him crazy. Every brush of skin, every look she threw him, made his pulse race, and it made living with her an exquisite form of torture. Life would be a lot easier if he could just get over the burning curiosity he felt to find out if her lips, her skin, she, tasted as good as she looked, and in his experience, there was only one way to take his mind off it. And that was to find out. He was annoyed at himself for forgetting to fix the boiler; he had plans for tonight and they didn't include her being mad at him.

When they reached the apartment, the pizza boy had just pulled up outside. Ray called out to him. 'Pizza for Barnett there?'

'Yep.'

'That's me. Here,' he held out some money. 'Save you the walk up the stairs.'

'Thanks man.'

Ray turned back to Neela. 'Come on, food'll get cold.'

A few hours later, and they sat on the sofa, an empty pizza box on the table in front of them, and several more beer bottles than there probably should be on a weeknight. He reached forward to pick up another pair, handing one to her. All evening he had made sure she never had an empty bottle in her hand.

'Thank you.'

'You're welcome.' His eyes sparkled at her. 'I've got another present for you.'

'Ooh, presents.' God, I'm drunk, she thought as she heard the overly excited tone to her voice. How did that happen? 'I like presents.' He reached under the detritus before them and pulled out a DVD, offering it to her.

She was immediately disappointed. 'Ray, you know I hate devil movies. They give me nightmares.'

'I'll let you hide your eyes against my shoulder,' he said in mock gallantry, and suddenly, through the slightly drunken haze, she had a feeling that he had got yet another horror movie for a reason. She always ended up practically sitting on his lap during movies like this, and she thought that might just be what he was aiming for. 'And if you ask really nicely, I might even put my arm around you.' A suggestive smile tugged at his lips, and she knew she wasn't mistaken. The paying for the pizza, the keeping her so well supplied with beer, it made sense. She'd seen that look in his eyes when he was chatting up some girl in a bar, when he was in the kitchen with some groupie he'd brought back. She knew what it meant.

All right Barnett, she thought, if that's the way you want it, I'll give you a run for your money. Two can play that game.

She took the disc out of its case and slipped it into the player. Instead of crouching down to do it as she would normally have done, she bent down, with her back to the sofa. She could feel his eyes on her. She straightened up and spun around quickly enough to catch him looking.

As his eyes met hers, he felt a little flush of embarrassment at being caught out, but when she smiled at him, he realised that the view he had been enjoying had been a deliberate show. She walked slowly back to the sofa and resumed her seat, lifting her legs up and resting them over him, her feet in his lap.

He had been going to subtly put his arm around her, but her new position prevented him from doing that. And he was a little wary of her now. He sensed that she had some sort of ulterior motive as well, he just wasn't sure if it was the same as his.

For the first hour of the film, she watched it avidly but Ray hadn't been paying it the slightest attention. He kept stealing little glances at her out of the corner of his eye to try to work out what she was thinking. And then, at first so imperceptibly that he wasn't sure if he was imagining it or not, her foot began to move. It began to slide slowly along the inside of his thigh. He looked at her sharply, but her eyes were fixed on the screen of the television. She couldn't help but smile mischievously though.

The foot continued its movement, up and down, each time getting ever so slightly further up his leg before sliding back down again. He clenched his jaw resolutely, determined not to let her win by showing any signs of pleasure. She must know what she was doing to him. His hand tightened on the beer bottle he was holding, his knuckles whitening.

He shifted a little, trying to ease the discomfort she was causing, but his movement only brought her foot closer to his groin. He couldn't help it; he groaned quietly, which elicited a wide grin of triumph.

'Enjoying that are you?' She finally turned to look at him and eyed him archly.

'Neela…' he just managed to get out.

'Are you Ray?' She suspended her movements for a minute.

'Don't stop,' he gasped.

'Ah, so you are enjoying it then?' She started moving her foot again, and this time he didn't even try to hide what he was feeling. He moaned desperately. She withdrew her foot but moved towards him and was straddling his lap before he had chance to quite cotton on to what she was doing.

She smiled at him seductively, and he noticed she had managed to secure a firm hold of both his wrists. He couldn't decide if that was a good or a bad thing. Her eyes had gone dark with desire, and whether she meant this or it was a cruel, but admittedly rather enjoyable, game, he knew that she wanted him. That prim, proper demeanour had gone right out the window, and with dark hair tumbling over her shoulders and an exotic air of control emanating from her, he saw a whole new side of Neela, and he definitely liked it.

He was leaning forward to kiss her, when she slipped past his lips and went straight to his neck, lips and tongue caressing his skin, teeth softly nibbling at his earlobe. He groaned again and his head tipped back, his eyes closing.

'Neela… Neela please…'

'Please what, Ray?' she breathed against his skin, making him shudder. She began to writhe carefully in his lap, and felt a thrill when she felt what she knew she was doing to him. He thrust his hips at her, and she gave him a deep, throaty giggle that increased his arousal even more.

'Good God Neela. You know what.'

And then, agonisingly slowly, she moved her trail of kisses from his neck along his jawbone moving closer and closer to his mouth...

Then she stopped.

She let go of his wrists and stood up.

He choked in shock. 'Neela?' He couldn't believe her smug smile as she began to walk towards the door. 'You have _got_ to be kidding me.'

She turned to face him, hands on hips, and she looked distinctly amused at his obvious frustration. 'Nope, no joke.'

'Then what the Hell was that about?' He was furious, a product of his frustration, and knowing that whatever her motive was, she had wanted him just as much as he wanted her.

'Because, for some reason, and I don't know what that was, you were trying to seduce me tonight. Well, I'm not that easy, and despite your best efforts, I'm not that drunk. You're going to have to do a whole lot better than pizza and beer if you stand a chance with me Ray Barnett.'

He was still staring after her in stunned silence when her bedroom door shut with a resounding slam that echoed through the apartment.

When Neela shut the door of her room behind her, she couldn't help but laugh. That would teach him. When she gave in, and she certainly would, it would most definitely be on her terms.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: As before

Author's Note: Here's part two. And this is definitely M rated. Sorry it was a long time in coming, it wasn't the easiest thing to write, and I've been putting more time into my full length story on the go than I have little bits and pieces like this. (I was watching "I Don't" while I was putting the finishing touches to this and what with the wedding and obviously I knew how it ended so I cried almost all the way through – it made writing fluff extremely difficult!)

Ray woke the following morning after a distinctly disturbed night's sleep to the sound of Neela's alarm clock through the wall. He lay there, waiting for her to hit the snooze button like she normally did. She always hit it at least once before she dragged herself out of bed. This morning though, he listened as she turned the alarm off and got up straight away.

What was she doing?

God, not more torture like last night, please. He was as pissed as Hell at her for what she did, but he knew that he sort of deserved it. He should have known that it needed a bit more than a takeaway and copious amounts of cheap alcohol to woo a girl like Neela, and she had put him right back in his place in a deliciously ruthless manner. It hadn't exactly fulfilled his evening's objective of taking his mind _off _her however. Images of her had flitted through his dreams all night, and he woke frequently, hot and breathless, half expecting to find her lying next to him. If only she had been.

He heard her bedroom door open, and she began to make her way towards… The bloody bathroom. No way was he giving up the only hot shower after her little performance last night. No more playing by the rules. He leapt out of bed and chased after her.

'Not so fast.' He caught her wrist just as she reached the bathroom door, and tried to yank her back. 'You really think you deserve the first shower?'

She grinned cheekily at him. 'I think you're most in need of a cold one.'

'And whose fault is that?'

In answer, she slipped out of his grip and sidestepped swiftly into the bathroom. He heard the lock slip across on the door, and he immediately started hammering on it. 'Don't you dare Neela. Don't you dare get in that shower.'

He heard her turn the water on.

'You had better hurry up in there. I swear to God, if you're any longer than one minute in that shower, I am going to knock this door down and come in there and wrestle you out of it.'

He was almost certain he could hear her laughing at him over the sounds of running water.

'I'd love to see you try Ray,' she called out.

'Damn it Neela, let me in.'

Neela let the hot water wash over her, listening with amusement to him huffing and puffing outside the door. She really had him riled. She could just imagine him standing there on the other side of the door, pacing around, all angry and frustrated. Better still, she thought to herself, imagine him here in the shower all angry and frustrated. The bathroom had begun to steam up with the contrast between the hot water and cold air, and she could almost see him standing there, water beaded on his skin and eyes flinty and dark with there desire that she knew would be there.

Another round of hammering on the door brought her out of her trance, and Neela realised that she was slowly trailing her hand up her thigh as she had been thinking about him, her chest rising and falling quickly with a sudden breathlessness that seemed to have come over her. There was an easy way to solve this, she thought. He wanted a hot shower, and she wanted him; simple. And she did owe him something by way of an apology for last night after all.

She stepped out of the tub without turning the water off and moved towards the door. She briefly considered the towel that she had brought in with her, but decided against it. It would be more fun to see his face without it.

Just as the hammering reached a crescendo, Neela unlocked the door and opened it abruptly. The sudden opening of the door threw him off balance and he half stumbled through into the bathroom. And then he looked up and saw… _her._

She was standing in front of him, hands on hips in that irritatingly amused pose that she had adopted last night, except for one, unbelievable difference. She was completely naked, tiny rivulets of water running down her perfect brown skin. He knew he must look utterly ridiculous; his face had slackened with shock and he felt his jaw drop but he couldn't take his eyes off her. She was even more beautiful than all the times he had imagined her. He blinked a couple of times, trying to decide whether or not this was real, or just another of the fantasies about her that his sleeping self played out over and over, and in fact he was back in his room, lying sound asleep in his bed.

Then she stepped towards him, and he could feel the heat emanating from her body. Oh, this was definitely real. It had better not be a continuation of last night though; that would really not be funny, although he didn't think even she would go this far for payback.

She had been right, she thought to herself. It really had been worth dispensing with the towel to see the expression on his face. If she didn't know how she was going to make it up to him, she would have almost felt sorry for the poor guy.

'Neela?' he managed to ask.

'I was just thinking,' she said lazily, 'that if you wanted a hot shower, it might be better if you joined me.'

He eyed her suspiciously. This sounded horribly like another of her games.

'We have to be at work in forty minutes; I think in light of that a cold shower might be more advisable.'

She shrugged carelessly and took a step back. 'Fine. Your loss.'

His hand shot out and grabbed her wrist again, pulling her towards him. 'Hey, hey, you're not going anywhere.' He wanted to say more but as his mind began to cloud, he yanked her back a little more violently than he intended and her body hit his as she moved back towards him, and soon as he felt her hot wet skin against his chest he couldn't think of mundanities like words. With one hand in her wet hair and the other sliding down her back, he held her against him and sought her lips with a moan, trying to gain the upper hand, although he had a strong feeling that this entire situation was being very much orchestrated by her, and all that was required from him was a bit of audience participation.

She let out a seductive giggle as she reached up to him that sent shivers down his spine. When their lips met, she immediately took control by plunging her tongue into his mouth, entwining it with his and caressing his palate, setting off sensations he couldn't even begin to describe. She smiled against his mouth as she felt him pressing, hard and insistent, against her stomach.

She unwrapped her arms from his neck and ran them, nails teasing his skin, all the way down his back until she reached the waistband of his boxers. They were off and lying in a pool of water on the floor before he knew what was happening.

'Neela,' he groaned.

'We're wasting the water,' she said through their collision of lips.

Part of him was amazed at her words. How the Hell could she still be in enough control of herself to be thinking about _anything _other than the soft slide of their wet bodies against each other, the way their hot lips met and moved. He knew, for him, there was nothing left in the world apart from this moment, her. What had started off as a harmless flirtation, a plan on his part to get her out of his system, had suddenly become an awful lot more than that.

'We'd better get in the shower then,' he murmured, and she noticed the slight change in his tone, just a little bit more serious than he had been before.

She smiled up at him, and led him by the hand into the shower. As soon as they stepped under the hot stream of water, he took her in his arms. He ran the fingers of one hand down her spine, resting at the small of her back, and the other he rose to cup her breast, and that line of friendship had been irrevocably crossed. Pausing before he kissed her, he looked deeply into her eyes, and Neela felt herself melt under the intensity of his gaze.

She gasped when she felt his hand close around her breast, and her nipple hardened against his palm instantly. She threaded her fingers through his hair and pulled him down to meet her in a fiery kiss. 'Ray…' she whispered, her voice uncharacteristically husky.

He bent his head further to kiss her throat, sliding his lips down her skin and across to her collarbone. He bit and sucked at the dark skin there, making a mark. At the feel of his teeth, she groaned again, and cried his name loudly this time. Spurred on by the sound of her voice, he brought his mouth up to meet hers again, swallowing her cry, and she bit his lip as he kissed her.

Staggering a little, he pushed her against the wall, making her gasp as she felt the cold tiles hit her skin. She writhed against him and he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold on. He had her pinned to the wall now, holding her wrists, and he dipped his head to her breast, grazing her small, hard nipple with his tongue then teeth.

He was giving her so much pleasure she wasn't sure she could tell the difference between it and pain anymore, but her body still ached for more. She fought him, trying to free her wrists to make better use of her hands, but he wouldn't let her go. Her head tipped back against the wall and she felt her knees begin to weaken. 'Ray, please…' she began to beg breathlessly.

Finally he let go of his hands and straight away she wound them around him for support. She clawed at his back, nails scraping at his skin, trying to pull him closer to her, needing to feel his body against hers. He answered her request by sliding his hands along the silky smooth undersides of her thighs, lifting her up and immediately, she wrapped her legs around his waist.

'Neela, oh God, Neela.'

'Now Ray, please now.'

He did ask she asked. He thrust himself into her with a grunt of effort that soon turned into a groan when he felt her contract, hot and wet, around him. He tried to kiss her but she was writhing in ecstasy too much. She clung to him desperately, her nails embedded in his back as she cried his name. 'More Ray, harder…' The sensation of him deep inside her, rough hands on her skin, was pushing her closer to the edge.

He did his best to oblige her as he kissed the sensitive spot below her ear. He was completely lost in her, the feel of her moving against him, the sound of her ragged breaths in his ear, and he didn't think he could make this last long. Then he felt her tighten around him and she came with a gasping moan and he was beyond all self control.

When, at last, it was over, he didn't step away from her. He gently lowered her to the ground, still holding her firmly against him. He bent his head to kiss her again, but this time with none of the urgency of earlier. It was soft and sensual, and said something even more significant than their recent passion. She wound her arms loosely round his neck, running her fingers slowly through his hair then moving down to stroke his face.

'Ray, I…' She was still breathless, and she didn't know what she wanted to say even if she was able. What could you say after that?

He smiled at her, a slow, almost lazy smile that made her knees weaken all over again. 'I think that was a pretty good way of solving the argument.'

She pretended to consider the matter. 'Not bad, I have to agree.'

'Not bad?' He raised an eyebrow.

'Does utterly amazing sound any better?'

'Hmm, that could work for me.' His hands were beginning to rove again, but the temperature of the water had fallen to a level that they could no longer continue to ignore. He reached behind them to switch the water off and climbed out of the tub, offering her a hand as she did the same. She was shivering, but she wasn't sure if it was from the cold water, or the chilly feeling that she had the second he had moved away from her.

Still smiling, he took a warm towel off the heated rail and wrapped it round her shoulders, using a corner of it to gently dry her. She followed his lead, and reached beyond him for another towel, and did the same. There was something very intimate about their actions that moved both of them, and privately, they questioned just how much of a game this was anymore. Neela looked as if she was about to say something, but Ray didn't want to spoil the moment with thoughts or words; he just wanted to enjoy this for now, and wait to see where it led.

To bring things back onto a lighter footing, he said, 'Do you realize how late for work we are?' Before, he would have expected a statement like that to throw her into a panic, but now, he didn't think it would. There suddenly seemed to be so much more to her than there ever had been before, or perhaps he had been too blind to notice.

'Yes,' she smiled back at him, clearly not caring in the slightest.

'It's a shame we have to go in at all. I can think of so many more interesting ways of spending the time.' There was a suggestive glint in his eye.

'Let's not then.'

'Let's not what?'

'Let's not go into work Ray.' He looked a little disbelieving at her suggestion, and she grinned mischievously at him. 'I bet you never thought I'd be so reckless, did you?'

He tilted his head slightly as he looked at her. 'Well, you have to admit, you haven't exactly set a precedent for wild and irresponsible abandon. When exactly did you become reckless?'

Her voice dipped seductively, and he _really _wished they didn't have to go to work, her dark eyes gazing up at him widely. 'When I met you.'

She smiled again at him, and taking her towel out of his hands, carefully wrapped it around herself, and walked into the lounge. Curious, he followed her.

'What are you doing?'

She had picked up the phone and dialed a number, so she didn't answer him, but softly rested a finger on his lips to quieten him. 'Hello Jerry, it's Neela, could I speak to Doctor Weaver please?'

Her voice sounded a little weaker than normal, as if she was ill. Then when Weaver came on the line, he understood.

'Doctor Weaver, hello. I was just calling to say Ray and I won't be able to make it in for our shifts today. We had a takeaway last night and it must have been dodgy, we've both been throwing up all night.' He watched her, astonished, as she spun the lie with an absolutely deadpan face. 'All right, thank you. Yes, I'm sorry again Doctor Weaver.'

She put the phone down and turned to him, noticing with a smile that his towel seemed to have gotten lost somewhere between here and the bathroom. 'Now, what else was it you had in mind?'

He shook his head a little, pulling himself out of his shock. Suddenly, he swept her, squealing in surprise, into his arms, and carried her towards his bedroom.

'Let me show you,' he said, kicking the door shut behind them.


End file.
